OPPapers.com Essay Index >> Book Reports >> The Mutability Of History In 1984
We have many free term papers and essays on The Mutability Of History In 1984 . We also have a wide variety of research papers and book reports available to you for free. You can browse our collection of term papers or use our search engine.
The Mutability of History in 1984. One of the issues raised in 1984 is
the idea that history is mutable or changeable, that truth ...
... which is the special feature of Ingsoc’ (1984 p.205). ... and the distortion of reality,
the mutability of the ... s exertions to alter the course of history in an ...
... which is the special feature of Ingsoc’ (1984 p.205). ... and the distortion of reality,
the mutability of the ... s exertions to alter the course of history in an ...
... of what we normally believe, and in 1984, the world is ... is that the Party can rewrite
history with impunity ... of Newspeak, doublethink, and the mutability of the ...
... Newspeak, doublethink, the mutability of the past. ... But to trace out the history of
the whole period, to say ... At this moment, for example, in 1984 (if it was 1984 ...
Submitted by wanjunli on July 27, 2007
Category: Book Reports
Words: 553 | Pages: 3
Views: 144
Popularity Rank: 72,807
Average Member Grade: N/A (Add a Comment / Grade this Paper)
One of the issues raised in 1984 is the idea that history is mutable or changeable, that truth is what the Party deems it to be, and that the truths found in history are the bases of the principles of the future. Some Fascist German leaders of the time boasted that if you tell a lie loud enough and often enough, people will accept it as truth. The Stalinists perfected this modus operandi by re-writing people and events in and out of history or distorting historical facts to suit the Party¡¯s purposes. ¡°Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past,¡± runs the Party slogan in 1984.
Winston¡¯s position in the Ministry of Truth is that of creating or forging the past into something unrecognizable to any person with an accurate memory (even memory is controlled in 1984) so that each forgery ¡°becomes¡± historic fact. One moment, Oceania is and always has been at war with one enemy, the next moment it is and has always been at war with another, and the people of Oceania accept the information as true. It is an exaggeration of a phenomenon that Orwell observed in his own time and reported with true clarity in 1984: People most readily believe that which they can believe most conveniently.
The novel makes the distinction between truth (the actual issues and circumstances of an event) and fact (what are believed to be the issues and circumstances of an event) and then explores the social-political-ethical-moral nuances of the evil manipulation of facts in order to control individuals and societies for political gain. Orwell was concerned that the concept of truth was fading out of the world. After all, in the arena of human intercourse of which politics is a part, what is believed is much more powerful than what is actual. If the leaders of nations are the people dictating the what, where, when, who, and how of history, there can be little question that lies find their way into the history books, that those lies are...
You must Login to view the entire paper.
If you are not a member yet, Sign Up for free!